2015 – Who Does Procurement Well

On February 26, 2015 the Edmonton Chapter of the Financial Management Institute (FMI) hosted a conference entitled: ‘Procurement – Who Does It Well?’.

Canadian governments (federal, provincial, municipal and agencies) collectively procure billions each year. Efficient and effective procurement is critical to the proper functioning of government operations and to a modern economy.
Which organizations have mastered their procurement processes; balancing efficiency and effectiveness with the necessary controls and oversight? This professional development-session considered this challenge from many perspectives; procurement professionals, public servants (who need to purchase goods and services), the financial manager, system providers, and the taxpayer who ultimately pays for the purchase. This was a joint presentation by FMI and PwC Canada – a global leader in supply chain and procurement.

My responsibilities for the program was to take the original suggested idea, flesh out a concept paper, recruit the speakers, project manage the event and then edit the final conference notes. A huge note of thanks go out the speakers who volunteered their time, many organizations who assisted in its promotion and finally my fellow board members of the FMI Chapter who made it so.

The final conference notes are available above and may be re-distributed with attribution given to FMI-Edmonton and the original speakers. The content has been reviewed and approved by the respective speakers. It is important to stress that this is not a transcript of the conference but instead the key themes and messages edited for brevity and clarity.